1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of making a reinforced carbon foam material having enhanced strength and, more specifically, it relates to such a method which employs selected reinforcing additives which are introduced during the fabrication process. It also relates to the resulting product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been known that coal has a wide variety of beneficial uses including, for example, use as a fuel in electric utility plants, the production of coke for use in process metallurgy, and the production of a wide variety of carbon products.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/887,556, entitled "Method or Making a Carbon Foam Material and Resultant Product" filed Jul. 3, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,469, and owned by the assignee of the present application, detailed disclosures are provided for methods of producing anisotropic or isotropic carbon foam having a number of beneficial properties and the resultant product. The disclosure of this application is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The carbon foam produced by the method disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/887,556 has substantial compressive strength which may be on the order of an excess of about 600 lb/in.sup.2. It also produces a product which is relatively lightweight and possesses a controllable degree of electrical and thermal conductivity.
In spite of the foregoing known methods and resultant products, there remains a need for a method of making carbon foam and a resultant product which has certain additional desired strength characteristics.